The rapid changes that have occurred in Gl surgery over the past decade have created a unique opportunity for the creation of new knowledge, and yet our training programs have not appropriately adapted to this changing reality. This T32 Program has been designed to train the next generation of academic Gl surgeons through a continued focus in the basic science field and an expanded focus on clinical research and surgical innovation, two research fields that have thus far been lacking when it comes to scientific rigor. The enormous resources and talented personnel in the Harvard Medical School community have been leveraged to create a unique environment for the research training of our future academic Gl surgeons. First funded in 1997 as a collaboration between the Departments of Surgery at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and the former Beth Israel Hospital, this program has been expanded to include investigators from all three major adult teaching hospital affiliates of Harvard Medical School (BIDMC, BWH, MGH). It is clear that a major impediment to promoting and maintaining high quality Gl surgical research has been the "silo" effect, whereby investigators from various disciplines function as independent entities with little or no interaction. Accordingly, this T32 program will be comprised of three research tracks: (1) Basic Science, (2) Clinical Research/Outcomes and (3) Surgical Technology/Innovation. The Program has been designed to bring surgeon-scientists together from these three different investigative disciplines, establishing a unique environment for collaboration and interaction. The Training Program Executive Committee (Hodin, Soybel, Hasselgren) will oversee the selection of trainees, designation of preceptors, prescription of formal coursework, and participation in programs teaching ethics and the responsible conduct in research. The Program is open to surgical residents or fellows in accredited U.S. Residency Programs and a pro-active process is in place to seek applications from individuals belonging to under-represented minority groups. This T32 Program is therefore designed to provide intensive, coordinated research training with the goal of preparing individuals to become independently funded investigators in the field of alimentary tract surgery. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: A large number of gastrointestinal (Gl) diseases are best treated through surgery. It is therefore imperative that surgeons be appropriately trained to perform research that will advance our knowledge of Gl diseases. This Program is designed to provide superb training to young surgeons so that they are able to pursue careers that will focus on improving the life of patients suffering from Gl diseases.